Multi-layer laminates can be used in a variety of applications required to meet certain functional as well as decorative specifications. The present invention provides a multi-layer laminate having a textured surface in which the laminate is decorative in nature and typically shaped to a three dimensional configuration. Although there are outdoor weatherable applications for this particular invention, one practical use is for decorative interior automotive parts. Examples are shaped parts having a textured decorative finish that can be used for interior automotive parts such as bezels, instrument clusters, trim parts, and the like. The invention will therefore be described as it relates to interior automotive laminates.
Automotive laminates are often made with a low gloss surface. Those parts used for decorative surfacing components are particularly desirable in a low gloss finish to reduce interior glare. There are other decorative interior applications requiring a high gloss finish. U.S. Patent Publication 2003-0211334, assigned to Avery Dennison Corporation, describes a decorative and functional low gloss automotive interior laminate made from a base coat/clear coat transfer film. The film is cast on a carrier and laminated to a plastic sheet which is then thermoformed to a three dimensional shape. The carrier on which the paint layers were cast is then stripped from the laminate. The carrier has a matte release surface that can transfer a low gloss surface to the outer clear coat layer. A certain tactile property is also produced within the low gloss outer clear coat layer to impart a soft and somewhat leather-like quality to the finished surface. In this particular automotive part the chemical composition of the outer clear coat layer is adjusted to produce the desired textured surface. The outer clear coat layer contains a flatting agent dispersed in a urethane material for producing the necessary low gloss surface, which also can be shaped by thermoforming and/or molding.
The present invention provides a process for applying a textured decorative surface to an interior laminate having either a low or high gloss surface. The process involves applying a textured material in the form of a viscous ink based material to an underlying laminate by a screen printing process. The ink material, when dried and cured, produces a print pattern of sufficient height and hardness to provide a stable textured finish, one which can withstand subsequent thermoforming and molding to a three-dimensional shape.
In one embodiment, either high gloss or low gloss laminates can be formed with a textured surface using the screening process of this invention, rather than resorting to the prior art process of adjusting the chemistry of either a low gloss or a high gloss surface layer to produce a particular textured finish. A more highly textured surface also is produced by the process of this invention. In addition, the textured surface layer can meet the specification requirements for automotive parts.